Austria Wagner, Parsifal: Soloists, Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Alexander Soddy (conductor). Vienna State Opera, 3.4.2024. (CR)
Serebrennikov’s uncomfortably stimulating Vienna Parsifal has a searing logic
Curtis Rogers
A consistently ominous atmosphere is wonderfully sustained in Vienna State Opera’s Simon Boccanegra
Austria Verdi, Simon Boccanegra: Soloists, Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Marco Armiliato (conductor). Vienna State Opera, Vienna, 6.4.2024. (CR)
A new scenario for Salieri’s Kublai Khan offers slapstick fun and spectacle in Vienna
Austria Salieri, Kublai Khan: Soloists, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Les Talens Lyriques / Christophe Rousset (conductor). MuseumsQuartier, Halle E, Vienna, 5.4.2024. (CR)
Oxford Philharmonic’s Berlioz and Brahms proves the ideal balm on a cold night
United Kingdom Berlioz and Brahms: Sophie Bevan (soprano), Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor). Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford 18.1.2024. (CR)
Oxford Philharmonic’s interesting juxtaposition of a world premiere with Mendelssohn and Schubert
United Kingdom Palazzo, Mendelssohn, and Schubert: Alexandra Conunova (violin), Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra / Marios Papadopoulos and Marcello Palazzo (conductors). Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, 15.12.2023. (CR)
Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder from Oliemans and Eijsackers were exhilarating, enervating even, in Oxford
United Kingdom Oxford International Song Festival 2023 [4] – Wolf: Thomas Oliemans (baritone), Hans Eijsackers (piano). Holywell Music Room, Oxford 24.10.2023. (CR)
Combining Schubert, Vaughan Williams and Blake in Oxford was intriguing rather than enriching
United Kingdom Oxford International Song Festival 2023 [3] – Schubert, Vaughan Williams: Anna Cavaliero (soprano), Robin Tritschler (tenor), James Turnbull (oboe), Dame Janet Suzman (reader), Graham Johnson (piano). Holywell Music Room, Oxford, 22.10.2023. (CR)
Samuel Hasselhorn makes an impressive first Oxford festival appearance with A Brahms Fantasy
United Kingdom Oxford International Song Festival 2023 [2] – Brahms, Schubert, A Brahms Fantasy: Samuel Hasselhorn (baritone), Markus Hadulla (piano). Holywell Music Room, Oxford, 19.10.2023. (CR)
